WA prosecutors who withhold evidence rarely face discipline
WA prosecutors who withhold evidence rarely face discipline
Legally and ethically, prosecutors are required to turn over evidence — even when it could hurt their case. Those who don’t, however, face few consequences.
by Melissa Santos / April 19, 2022
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But that information arguably shouldn’t have been a secret. Like all prosecutors, the one who charged Young with theft was legally and ethically obligated to share evidence that could cast doubt on the deputy’s testimony, as well as other information that could hurt the state’s case and help exonerate Young.
Next: Nearly 200 cops with credibility issues still working in Washington state
That didn’t happen, Young’s lawyer said, causing Young months of stress and disruption before a jury eventually found him not guilty.
(Also became homeless and lost his business.)
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Defense attorneys say prosecutors fail to share information that is favorable to defendants more often than people realize.
“I would say it has happened enough in my career where I now look for it,” said Ali Hohman, the director of legal services at the Washington Defender Association, which represents public defense attorneys.
At the same time, prosecutors rarely face discipline over such issues. In three recent cases in Snohomish County, judges ruled that deputy prosecutors engaged in misconduct, but none ended up being disciplined by the state bar association.
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Even when there is a finding of prosecutorial misconduct, consequences for prosecutors are rare.
In Clark County last year, a judge ruled a deputy prosecutor interfered inappropriately by stopping a defense attorney’s attempt to get a crash victim’s medical records.
Yet the deputy prosecutor wasn’t sanctioned by the judge or the state bar association, and the case was allowed to proceed.
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In Bang’s research, he found that, although Washington appeals courts affirmed 373 instances of prosecutorial misconduct between 2007 and 2016, judges reversed the rulings in only 16% of those cases.
Those numbers are incomplete and do not capture instances of prosecutorial misconduct at the trial court level, such as in Kerley’s case.
The other main avenue for prosecutors to be held accountable is through the Washington State Bar Association, which disciplines prosecutors who violate the rules of professional conduct for lawyers. This is where violations of prosecutors’ stricter ethical standards would be addressed.
Yet the state bar association rarely disciplines prosecutors for failing to turn over evidence. Records show that since 1984 it has severely disciplined only one prosecutor for this type of ethics violation.
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https://crosscut.com/news/2022/04/wa-prosecutors-who-withhold-evidence-rarely-face-discipline